When the Bus Leaves the Barn: How Breckenridge Independent School District Keeps Routes Running Smoothly, No Matter Who's Behind the Wheel
Breckenridge ISD is a 3A district in rural north-central Texas. With 1,300 students, 8 bus routes, and a transportation team largely composed of maintenance staff and retirees who drive in the mornings and afternoons, flexibility is in the job description. For Jeremy West, the district's Director of District Services — who oversees maintenance, grounds, custodial staff, and transportation — BusRight's tablet-based turn-by-turn navigation has become the tool that makes that flexibility possible.
Overview
A District Where Everyone Wears Multiple Hats
Jeremy West has spent three decades in Texas education, as a driver, a baseball coach, a high school assistant principal, and now the person responsible for fixing whatever's broken. At Breckenridge ISD, that means pest management, HVAC, roof leaks, and eight bus routes that crisscross the county and extend into neighboring ones.
"We're the fixers of everything, basically, for the district," West says. "If it's broke, we fix it."
Transportation is one (critical) slice of that pie. The district's drivers do more than just transport, with many also serving in maintenance roles. When someone can't make it, West finds a solution, even if that solution is himself.
"I've driven every route this school year," he says. "Probably driven each one in the morning and the afternoon."
The Old Way: A Flashlight and a Handwritten Paper Route Sheet
West has been driving buses since the 1990s. He knows what it used to look like when a substitute driver had to cover a bus route they'd never driven before, especially in the dark, in rural country.
"You'd be 10 miles from town in the dark with a flashlight, trying to read somebody's handwritten turn-by-turn directions," he says. "Go down to where the dog's chained to the tree and take a right."
This required institutional knowledge that took years to build and was difficult to transfer. And for a district where the head of maintenance might need to cover a route on a moment's notice or recruit a coach to fill in on an afternoon run, that knowledge gap was a constant source of operational friction.
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A Tablet Anyone Can Pick Up and Drive
When Breckenridge ISD came on board with BusRight in 2022, the feature that immediately changed the equation was BusRight’s tablet-based turn-by-turn navigation system. Every route is loaded and ready in the tablet, so any substitute — whether it's a maintenance worker, a sports coach, or West himself — can grab a tablet and go.
"You can jump on that bus, turn that tablet on, and she's gonna tell you every turn and every stop," West says. "That's a huge benefit for us."
The value isn't just in the navigation. It's in the confidence it gives drivers who might be covering unfamiliar ground in the early-morning dark, and the peace of mind it gives West, knowing anyone he puts behind the wheel has what they need to get every student home safely.
"I think it puts drivers at ease," he says. "It allows them to feel a lot more comfortable."
Beyond navigation, West has found the platform's route management tools equally easy to adopt. When a student moves to a different stop or a new address needs to be added, he can update the route from his laptop in minutes, no tech support required.
"I can grab a pin and drop it so if a kid gets off a route or moves to a different route, it's just that easy to edit," he says. "It's as easy as clicking a button. Whether it's the driveway, the mailbox, the dumpster — you can drag that pin and put it exactly where you want that bus to stop."
In a district where West describes most software as "dated and not user-friendly," that simplicity stands out.
"That thing is really easy to use," he says. "A lot of guys in this position aren't very tech-savvy, but it's super easy to navigate."
BusRight is Built Into the Foundation of Breckenridge ISD
West is retiring at the end of this school year. As he prepares to hand off responsibilities, he's been building what he calls his "red folder": documentation that would let whoever sits in his chair next pick up and run with every part of the operation. BusRight is a big part of that handoff.
As for what’s next, West believes BusRight's student scanning capabilities are a logical next step toward real-time accountability for who is on every bus at every moment. West sees the state safety grant funding landscape as a potential pathway to get there.
For now, the GPS and routing platform is doing exactly what a small rural district needs: giving any driver the ability to run any bus route, from the first stop to the last, without ever having to wonder where to turn — ensuring every child can safely and efficiently access their education
"To me," West says, "that's the greatest value — whether you have one route or you have 20."